An Abhishek Sharma special saw India win the fifth and last T20I in convincing fashion. Having won the series already coming into this game, India still did not let England breathe easy.
They came out all guns blazing, and put up an absolute show, their best performance of the series.
On that note, let us look at three reasons for India’s mind-blowing win vs England in the fifth T20I:
1) Abhishek Sharma’s extraordinary knock
Describing in words what Abhishek Sharma did in the final T20I against England would simply be impossible. It was just that sort of a knock.
The 20-over game has evolved so much, and Abhishek Sharma is the perfect representation of what modern-day batting is all about. His fearless approach is what has laid the platform for India all through this series.
However, the southpaw took it a step ahead, and this time around, stayed at the crease for 18 out of the 20 overs in the innings. In the process, he faced 54 deliveries, which were more than enough for him to inflict match-costing damage on the visitors.
Abhishek Sharma made it look way too easy, and scored a mammoth 135 runs, clearing the fence an astonishing 13 times in this explosive knock.
He looked at ease against both spin and pace. The ease with which he was carving quick deliveries from the likes of Jofra Archer and Mark Wood over cover and point is a testament to this youngster’s talent and potential.
Abhishek Sharma’s 135 is now the highest ever T20I score by an Indian, and his 13 sixes are the most any Indian batter has ever hit in a T20I.
Less than 20 games into his T20I career, Abhishek Sharma already has a couple of incredible tons, and some magnificent records to his name.
2) Breezy cameos from the other Indian batters
Abhishek Sharma’s mind-boggling knock had laid the platform for India, but some handy cameos from the others led India to the total of 247.
Sanju Samson got India off to a decent start, scoring 16 off just 7 deliveries. Tilak Verma took on Liam Livingstone and Jamie Overton, and notched up 24 runs off 15 deliveries.
Shivam Dube displayed some clean ball-striking, racing away to 30 runs off just 13 deliveries.
These three combined scored 70 runs off 35 deliveries, striking at a run rate of 12 per over. This swashbuckling batting from the Indian batting lineup, led by Abhishek Sharma, has truly been a breath of fresh air.
3) Suryakumar Yadav’s bowlers putting in a team performance
Defending 248 should have been fairly easy, but England were going to come hard considering they had nothing to lose.
Indian bowlers, however, continued to bamboozle the English Batters. In this mighty run-chase, the visitors were bowled out in under 11 overs.
It all started with Mohammed Shami getting Ben Duckett out for a golden duck. Then, Varun Chakravarthy struck with his first ball to send Jos Buttler back to the pavilion.
Ravi Bishnoi also got the wicket of Harry Brook in his first and only over of the game.
What followed was a horrible-looking collapse for England. A combination of their ultra-aggressive approach and some disciplined bowling from India saw them get bundled over for just 97 runs.